New York City just approved a pilot program that will allow riders to hail cabs on their smartphones, paving the way for app-building upstarts trying to make the journey as enjoyable as the destination.
This should be a boon to Uber — and stranded cab riders everywhere.
There was no agreement. We have always been opposed to price fixing.Uber CEO Travis Kalanick • Disputing the portrayal of his company by Washington DC city council member Mary Cheh, who claimed they agreed to an amendment we reported about last night, which would have set a minimum price for Uber’s cab-disrupting model. After much outcry by fans of Uber, the amendment got held back from a taxi modernization bill, and will likely remain shelved until later this year. Uber also has a mini-protest of their own going on — they cut their minimum fare in the city to $12, an apparent defiant act against the amendment, which would have enforced a minimum fare price of $15.
For some people, cabs can simply suck. In big cities, trying to tag down a cab can be annoying or (if you live in a bad or far-away neighborhood) an exercise in futility. One startup, Uber (which, via an app, sends a private sedan right to wherever you’re standing), cuts through the annoyingness of cabs — you pay a little more, sure, but it’s much less frustrating. However, it’s also disruptive, which is why Washington DC’s City Council is considering a new taxi modernization bill that would effectively limit Uber’s future ability to expand — by preventing the company from offering a low-cost service. The company actually rolled out one recently, but because of the proposed new law (which also, to be fair, does such things as force DC cabs to have GPS devices and take credit cards), couldn’t launch it in the District. Understandably, the company is kind of upset about this. Though, on the other hand, DCist points out that the amendment effectively legalizes the more-expensive service in the District, too. source
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